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Premier’s visit to Drumheller flooded with ironic overtones

What’s in a name? The premier’s “Building Alberta” tour is making a stop in Drumheller later this week, which I found somewhat ironic

What’s in a name?

The premier’s “Building Alberta” tour is making a stop in Drumheller later this week, which I found somewhat ironic under the circumstances.

The irony is clear if you consider that the Alberta government has virtually destroyed the real-estate market in Drumheller.

Property owners are unable to have an appraisal done on their properties. Without the ability to get an appraisal, you are unable to get a mortgage, which makes most property currently designated “floodway” unsellable.

Unanswered letters that were sent from my office to the Municipal Affairs Minister’s office have sent me a message. With not so much as an acknowledgment having been sent to my office, it’s very clear they are unwilling to work with your MLA.

The town remains in “property” limbo, while the bureaucrats decide the financial fate of a great number of residents’ properties. The mayor and council of Drumheller are looking down the barrel of that same issue, wondering what effect this will have on tax assessments if half the homes in the town are devalued.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs wrote a book called “13 Ways to Kill Your Community.” Have they found the 14th way?

Is this going to be the subject of his sequel book? Perhaps the title to his follow-up effort could be called “How to Ruin a Community with a Simple Assessment?”

The problem started with the assessors using 2007 data that does not reflect the reality of the work done by the town. By simply changing the status from “Floodway” to “Under Review,” a lot of anxiety and anger could have been and could be avoided.

For some reason, they refuse to listen.

Constituents have been contacting my office looking for answers, I have been seeking those answers, and the Alberta government has not been interested in giving me those answers.

They keep telling us they are interested in having conversations with Albertans. Try as I might, I cannot figure out which Albertans they want to have a conversation with. Perhaps they’re referring to the bureaucrats; maybe those are the Albertans they want to have these conversations with.

Just this past week, the minister admitted in a press release that the towns of Fort McMurray and Drumheller required further review and would not be eligible for their buyout program.

In the 2006 Groeneveld Flood Mitigation report commissioned by this government, there were a large number of communities from across the province that were suggested for flood mitigation construction. Fort McMurray and Drumheller were two of those communities. These decisions will have negative and far-reaching effects for a large number of communities across southern Alberta and this should not be taken lightly.

The first step in these decisions can only be done through communications with the people in these towns, which it appears they are not willing to do.

I strongly urge everyone to voice their feelings on this situation if the minister should see fit to allow that to happen.

If anyone has questions concerning this column, please contact my office in Drumheller or Stettler.

— From The Legislature